The Step-by-Step Guide to Managing a Team of Freelancers from a Virtual Office

If you are running your business from a virtual office and building a team of freelancers for your company, you may soon begin to wonder about the proper ways in which you can manage them. Having a virtual office for your business has many benefits that often come down to simple cost-effectiveness, but one of the possible dangers is the inability to have your team all in one place, at one time, working together. So how can you manage your team of remote professionals effectively? Here are a few considerations regarding team management that can help you get the most out of your freelancers.

It Starts With the Hiring Process

If it isn't obvious to you already, you should be wary when hiring freelancers to work for your business in a virtual office setting. Hiring the right candidates may mean putting greater emphasis on individuals with past experience working on a remote basis for another virtual office, as opposed to just looking at their general skill sets. Hiring freelancers who know how to manage their own time, meet deadlines, and produce work on a remote basis will surely help your virtual office company run smoothly. Most freelancers, however, would prefer to work on a remote basis, so you should have no difficulty finding qualified candidates.

Set Up Synchronized Project Management Tools

Once you have your team of freelancers set up, you can turn toward the internet and the various project management tools that are available on the web. Project Management tools such as LiquidPlanner, Projecturf, or Project Bubble help to keep all of your freelancers connected and on-task with particular projects. BaseCamp is another popular project management tool that offers schedules and in-sync calendars to ensure your team is always on the same page. These tools will assist you in tracking the progress of your freelancers, while also acting as a communications and scheduling tool. There are also many mobile apps built for enterprise that you can implement into your business so that each member of your team has easy access to an organized, helpful platform, right at their fingertips.

Schedule Regular Meetings at Your Office Premises

Working with a virtual office is a splendid setup, and working remotely certainly has its benefits. Perhaps, however, it is beneficial to the overall success of your business if you set regular in-person, face-to-face meetings with your team. You can easily accomplish this by renting a conference or meeting room for an hour, a half-day, or full day at a very affordable rate. If you have some freelancers who live outside of reasonable commuting distance, you can dial them into the meeting through a Skype conversation and still carry out an effective meeting.

Communication is Key

When a team is separately working at their own pace, on their own time and turf, it becomes increasingly important that the lines of communication are always open. Simply putting into motion regular communication via email or phone will help the operations of your business run more smoothly. Keeping in touch with your remote freelancers and giving them feedback can also help your business to grow. All in all, running a team of remote freelancers is a learning curve, but is one that is certainly worth learning. Allowing your business to gain the benefits of a remote team and a virtual office is also worth the inevitable growing and learning pains, because they lead to the ultimate goal of success!